This solves the problem of an acoustic guitar not having enough volume (or related beautiful tone due to this), in an acoustic environment, especially with other instruments. Classical guitars are not, and generally never have been included as a standard instrument in a symphony orchestra, due to lack of volume. Listen to an acoustic guitar being played with a violin, a piano, a banjo, and/or any brass instrument. The acoustic guitar can't be heard well, in an acoustic environment with other acoustic instruments. You can hear it within ten feet of the music. At twenty feet, thirty feet, and more, these other acoustic instruments can all be heard easily, but the acoustic guitar sound is greatly reduced. Other products include an acoustic/electric guitar that can be plugged into an amplifier. This type of guitar uses a pickup under the strings, does not capture the true acoustic sound of the guitar, and does not enhance the sound in any way (folded horn or other). Acoustic/electric guitars are not meant to be played through guitar amplifiers, which are made for electric guitars (some amps are made for acoustic guitars, which are much better). The closest alternative is using an acoustic guitar with a high end microphone into a public address system (more on this later). My product is made to produce an acoustic, pure, beautiful sound, not needing external amplification or an electrical source (battery powered). That said, an external amplifier can be used, all options are included in this design.
The folded horns are inside the acoustic guitar, and can't be seen (except horn exits on the end of the instrument). The guitar does not look any different from a standard acoustic guitar on the outside, other than the soundboard is three inches larger (longer) than a standard dreadnought guitar. It is radically different on the inside. It is heavier, so this difference will be noticed when the guitar is held. It is similar in weight to a heavy solid body electric guitar (classic older Gibson Les Paul). The guitar body is manufactured from high quality Rock Maple available online (two 3″×18″×24″ pieces laminated together). This will allow machining of the back and sides from one solid piece of material to form the guitar body, which we need for the unusual body shape/folded horn design, and also to minimize cost without affecting quality. The folded horns grow exponentially, and are somewhat similar in shape to a Saxophone, but the material is Rock Maple. This guitar has an upper and lower internal chamber. The chamber divider itself contains the gradual (exponential) horn shape, and is assembled into the horn channel in the lower chamber. Everything above the chamber divider is the upper chamber. This is where the microphone is placed, to capture the true acoustic sound of the guitar. The only way this can be manufactured is with computer numerical control programming and machining. A Luthier with standard guitar building tools can't build this guitar completely. That said, a Luthier is required to fit, hand work and assemble this guitar, to assure the highest levels of quality. This is a true combination of technology and craftsmanship. The goal is to build an acoustic guitar with increased volume, so the guitar player can easily play/vibrate the strings, resulting in a beautiful rich tone, not degraded by excessive force on the strings. The folded horn greatly contributes to superior sound due to concentrated sound waves. This produces a beautiful sound without losing sound wave energy, and increasing sound wave direction as it exits the guitar. It should be noted that all sound normally generated from the body of the guitar remains, and is actually enhanced due to the larger soundboard. This is all possible while being UNPLUGGED.
Other innovations include a thin and light (yet strong) soundboard. This projects more sound, due to increased soundboard vibration. This is achieved by cutting the soundboard from a solid piece of wood, and not gluing braces by the traditional method. Decorative features on top of the soundboard are disguised as features that provide flexibility to the soundboard, without losing strength (due to the unique design that does not contain any sharp corners).
To maintain strength and provide musical sustain, the neck is dovetailed, screwed and doweled to the body. This is possible due to the solid back and sides. The finger board is cut short on the soundboard (by four frets), to allow more soundboard vibration. These frets are rarely used on an acoustic guitar, so this is an improvement. The traditional truss rod to adjust the neck is included in this design.
The Bridge is also longer, and provides more vibration to the soundboard. This is possible, because the underside of the bride is relieved (cut away). This allows more contact over a greater length with the soundboard, but does not increase the actual square inch contact area by a great amount.
String height (action), is completely different and improved. Almost all acoustic guitars have a fixed nut and fixed saddle. While the saddle can be adjusted with shims, this is not effective to adjust action. String height is very important, as it affects tone, string noise (buzz), and the ability to play with less effort. It also affects the ability to play slide guitar, which is a great technique on the acoustic guitar. The nut is recessed into a pocket, which allows it to be free standing, and adjustable. This is achieved by suppling ten different nut components, all of different height. There are also ten different saddle components, all of different height. The combination of these different nut and saddle heights allows string action adjustment never seen before.
Finally, as mentioned earlier, this guitar has been completely prototyped as a virtual design (complete digital 3D computer aided design, available for view upon request). After the utility patent has been granted, this design will be available on the internet, to receive input from many people. This can help determine who may be interested in building this guitar, who may provide improvements, and who might develop improved ideas for their own designs and patents. The goal is to license this idea to people that understand guitar building, (but they must have the computer numerical equipment to handle this project). It should be noted that I am a music lover, and hope to spread this idea to others, after first protecting myself legally.